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Khalid Jamil’s appointment by AIFF reeks of helplessness, but history-making coach has proven to be anomaly
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  • Khalid Jamil’s appointment by AIFF reeks of helplessness, but history-making coach has proven to be anomaly

Khalid Jamil’s appointment by AIFF reeks of helplessness, but history-making coach has proven to be anomaly

Ujwal Singh • August 2, 2025, 07:00:52 IST
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Khalid Jamil’s appointment as head coach of the Indian football team by the AIFF reeks of desperation from a cash-strapped organisation that has previously failed with similar experiments. But Jamil’s extraordinary capabilities could yet prove the AIFF right.

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Khalid Jamil’s appointment by AIFF reeks of helplessness, but history-making coach has proven to be anomaly
Khalid Jamil becomes the first Indian head coach of the men's football team since 2012. Image: ISL

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) news story announcing the return of an Indian as the new head coach of the Indian (men’s) football team runs six paragraphs, including the names of the president, vice-president, Executive Committee (EC) and Technical Committee (TC) members, but there’s no information of the contract tenure offered to Khalid Jamil.

Possibly, the terms are yet to be agreed upon. However, the AIFF clearly mentions that Jamil has been appointed by the TC, not just picked, which suggests that a basic agreement is already in place, and the Jamshedpur FC coach has given the green light to take up the challenging job.

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So, either the contract length has not been decided, or AIFF is probably looking to play a short-term game before offering a new deal to Jamil next year. How can we say that?

More from Football
Khalid Jamil appointed head coach of Indian men’s football team as an Indian returns to top job Khalid Jamil appointed head coach of Indian men’s football team as an Indian returns to top job Khalid Jamil named Indian football team coach: A trailblazer who thrives with underdogs Khalid Jamil named Indian football team coach: A trailblazer who thrives with underdogs

The budget for the 2025-26 season was passed by the AIFF Executive Committee only until December 2025 on 2 July. There are limitations, and a long-term contract most likely cannot be offered right now.

It makes sense now, right?

Why was Khalid picked over Constantine?

But what about his appointment in the first place? How did the 48-year-old AFC Pro Licensee beat former India coach Stephen Constantine , the Anglo-Cypriot, who took India to the 2019 Asian Cup and helped them beat Thailand in a group stage match – the Blue Tigers’ first win at the continental tournament since 1964. Or, what about Stefan Tarkovic, the former Slovakian and Kyrgyzstan coach? Khalid, in comparison, is a pale shadow of the competitors he had.

But here’s where the story gets more interesting. The AIFF is not only struggling with the budget for the ongoing season but also has no agreement in place for Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) to run the Indian Super League (ISL); its annual revenue is on a rapid decline. It generated Rs 137 crore in income in 2022-23, followed by just Rs 110 crore in 2023-24, and was also required to pay approximately Rs 3.36 crore (around $400,000) to former India head coach Igor Stimac after terminating his contract two years before its scheduled end date.

The AIFF Executive Committee, in the presence of the Technical Committee, has approved the appointment of Khalid Jamil as the new head coach of the Senior India Men's National Team.#IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/R1FQ61pyr4

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) August 1, 2025

The financial crisis forced AIFF to make a compromise with Manolo as he came on a deal where he continued his job at FC Goa in ISL. And we know how his tenure ended. It was a disaster . Manolo, the manager who was said to know everything about Indian football, a fan favourite, arguably popular among players, and a tactician believed to have the ability to get the best out of Indian players, won just one friendly out of eight games in charge of the Indian football team. His only win came against a semi-professional-looking Maldivian side.

Also Read | Khalid Jamil named Indian football team coach: A trailblazer who thrives with underdogs

The football India played under him was abysmal – the players looked shaky, the squad selection was questionable, the team environment was unruly, and the atmosphere during India’s matches was unprofessional.

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Yet, the AIFF has once again opted for a manager who has no international experience, but one who comes with a lot of guts and gumption.

Khalid, as a coach, has always been a fighter, punching above his weight with underdogs . But didn’t India need a proven face when they were on the brink of elimination from the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers? Wasn’t Constantine, who already had two terms with India, a better option?

Congratulations #KhalidJamil

As expected Khalid Jamil is the new Head Coach Indian National Men’s Team #BlueTigers

A bold decision by AIFF and Khalid himself to join hands at a time when the challenge is of highest level.

Khalid becomes the first Indian coach after Savio… pic.twitter.com/dQOzyZ3o78

— Shaji Prabhakaran (@Shaji4Football) August 1, 2025

After all, Jamil has zero international experience. But that’s not the case with Constantine. And then there was Tarkovic, who also had extensive international experience.

Don’t forget, managing the dressing room is probably the biggest challenge in the Indian team. Players come into the Indian locker room with their bags full of financial security – there’s no greed for money. The only thing you need to kindle in them is the passion to play for the blue jersey, but coaches have often found that tough.

Stimac was undone by the same issue at the end of his tenure. Marquez never got hold of anything before he desperately sought a way out.

Jamil is an anomaly and maybe that worked for him

It’s important to point out that the language used by the AIFF announcing Jamil’s appointment tells a story in itself.

“Mr. Colaco and Mr. Ali expressed their views that the AIFF should prioritise selecting an Indian coach for the senior men’s national team,” the AIFF said.

“The AIFF Vice President Shri Haris, along with members such…opined that for the betterment of Indian football, the federation must give an opportunity to an Indian coach.”

So, Jamil wasn’t picked just because he was the most capable, but also because he is an Indian coach. Interesting!

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Just for your information, India’s last three Asian Cup qualifications, dating to 2011, have come under foreign coaches. No Indian has coached India since 2012. Only four Indians have coached the Blue Tigers since the turn of the 21st century, and none of them have lasted for more than a year.

So, why this lust for an Indian coach?

Possibly because there’s less budget and we are tired of the antics of foreign coaches. Even though Marquez proved beyond doubt that just some good knowledge of the ISL or Indian players is not enough to match the standards of international football, the AIFF has once again taken a punt with a similar coach.

1 - Khalid Jamil is the only Indian manager to have managed 50+ games in the #ISL (72); he is also the only Indian manager to have registered multiple playoff wins in the competition (2). Choice.

📸: @IndSuperLeague#IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/HNrdQaxnJ4

— OptaJeev (@OptaJeev) August 1, 2025
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The only difference is that Jamil is not Marquez. He is no washed-up Spaniard coach; Jamil is a trailblazer in his own right.

The messiah of Mumbai FC, the history-maker at Aizawl FC, and the trend-setter in the ISL with NorthEast United FC and Jamshedpur. From being the first Indian coach to take an ISL side to the playoffs to being the first home manager to acquire a full-time job in the top division, Jamil has always been an anomaly.

Disciplined team, non-nonsense defending, and well-drilled tactics have been Jamil’s strengths across all teams, allowing him to extract the best from limited resources everywhere he has been.

Possibly, that’s why AIFF picked him, but that is not clear from their news story, nor has that ever been enough to coach India. But as I said, Jamil is an anomaly.

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Written by Ujwal Singh
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Watching sports and writing about it are my favourite things in life and I try to bring you the best from the sporting world at Firstpost. see more

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